Top Android apps and games of the week #17

With popular shopping websites like Myntra going the app-only way (its parent company Flipkart is also planning to follow suit within this year), there’s little doubt that apps will become integral to interact with the world and different services. That’s why we intend to bring you the best apps and games every week that you should try on your Android devices. This time, we have a couple of apps to improve your photographs, a few local apps from India and lastly, some addictive games to help you unwind over the weekend.

One of the most popular professional photo editing suites, Adobe Lightroom has received an update which brings some really useful features to it. First is the support for Android tablets, which means that users can enjoy it on a larger screen. If you’re using a Lollipop-based device, the app also brings support for DNG RAW files. It can also access the microSD card to edit or save photos.

Most photo-editing apps offer plenty of effects and filters to pep up your photos, but Overam is quite different. The app offers a multitude of geometric shapes to let you change the composition of a photo. Additionally, you can get multiple blur options such as motion, radial and zoom. The app also offers creative filters and colour overlay options along with editing bars to control the intensity of effects.

Just a couple of years ago, Paytm was only a recharge website. But since then it has added a number of features to its roster, and has become one of the fastest-growing ecommerce websites. Now, the company is venturing into grocery delivery services. The service, currently limited to Bangalore, allows the user to order groceries from their favourite stores nearby and get it delivered at no extra charge.

Document-collaboration service Quip became popular due to its simple and intuitive interface that offered users the option to use docs, spreadsheets and task lists in one app. Leveraging the power of cloud, you can create a document anywhere and the access it from your mobile or tablet, and share it with friends or co-workers. With the latest update, it has added a chat room functionality to the app, which means you can chat with others outside of the document. Another useful feature added to the app is the option to select which notifications you want to receive.

Twitter is aiming to make itself easier and more useful for first-time users or those who can’t keep up with hundreds of tweets. With Highlights, its latest feature, the app will curate the best tweets and bring them to you every morning and the evening via a notification. These tweets are shown on the basis of accounts and conversations that are popular among the users you follow, and topics and events that are trending in your location or within your network. The feature is opt-in only.

Zomato has been working hard to establish itself as more than just a food-discovery platform. The company has now started accepting online orders for delivering food. It’s also worth appreciating that the new feature gels well with the usual options of searching for dining places, reading reviews or going through different menus. Another useful feature added to the app is that when you search for a particular restaurant, you’ll now see an Uber icon, clicking on which will bring the Uber to your location to take you to the restaurant.

The service is currently live in Delhi NCR region, but will soon be available in other places.

Games

This game comes from the developers behind the extremely popular Nitro Nation Racing title. However, this can work offline as well, and also adds an interesting storyline to a racing game. You’ll be playing Justin Carr, who while protecting his turf is also trying to find out who’s behind the recent mysterious accidents and deaths in the racing community. The game offers impressive graphics and allow you to chose from different modes like Story, Street Race, Underground, Division and Pro Street. You can select from over 30 cars to race and also get the option to upgrade your car.

As the name suggests, you’ll be playing as pirates in the game as you battle against other captains and rival players. If you win the battle, you can plunder the loot to fund your own adventures. Of course, you’ll need to defend your own island and the loot other pirates since they live for revenge. You can also play it as multi-player game with your friends by making a guild.

If you’re looking for a casual and addictive game, Rescue ‘Em is a great option for you. A number of cute creatures live in Frolic Island, but Brutus makes an evil plan to capture them all. To rescue them, they need a hero, whose role will be played by you. You have to dodge bombs, rotten eggs, poisonous mushrooms and more to save the creatures. You can also fetch candies and surprise gift boxes to gain advantage over Brutus.

With that, we end this week’s edition of top Android apps and games. We’ll continue scouting for more interesting titles over the coming week for our next edition.